[ This article was first published in the March, 2011, issue of
Larry’s Final Cut Pro Newsletter. Click here to subscribe. ]
The writer of this email shall go nameless for obvious reasons.
We just bought a Sony HXR-NX5N/NX5N is this camera a good choice for Final Cut?
In 8 hours I could not download a two-hour video in HD onto Final Cut.
Larry replies: First, why did you buy a camera without checking to see if Final Cut supports it before you bought it? Sadly, Final Cut Pro does not support this camera.
Second, the best place to check for what devices Final Cut supports is: www.apple.com/finalcutstudio/resources.
Look in the top right corner for the Supported Devices selector.
UPDATE – March 5, 2011
Jonathan Eric Tyrrell writes:
I don’t have a camcorder to test, but according to Sony other HXR NXCAM camcorders will work (sometimes) with FCP 7.0.3 via Log and Transfer:
http://www.sony.co.uk/res/attachment/file/81/1237477910981.pdf
Larry replies: Jonathan, thanks for letting me know.
UPDATE – APRIL 6, 2011
Mark Williams takes me to task:
In your newsletter article, it is a little rude to tell him he should have checked first, when he knows that already, and he didn’t ask you that question. He wanted to know if you knew something he didn’t about uploading video files from that kind of camera. A simple no, and a commiseration with him would be the appropriate response. Letting him know that he is a dufus and that you are amazed by his stupidity is rude. Just because he is a newbie to editing is not a reason to humiliate him.
Larry replies: Mark, it is never my intention to humiliate anyone, even anonymously. And if I have done so, I apologize.
However, it does leave me speechless that someone would spend more than $4,000 for a camera (the approximate retail price for this Sony camera) without first checking to be sure it would work with their software.
The reason I mentioned Apple’s site listing supported devices is so that others will know where to look so they can avoid making the same mistake.
Peter Clark writes;
Not sure if there is any difference with the NX5N and 5U, but I have been using NX5U for 6 months with Final Cut 7 and very happy.
Sony has a plug in which allows the AVCHD format to be accessed through the log and transfer process.
The thing I like about the NX5U is I can shoot SD and HD simultaneously. Most of my video is currently only used in SD format, however, I am slowly getting more requests for HD so I am building up a library of HD material.
The SD is captured on SDHC cards while I use the Sony HXR-fmu 128 for the HD.
I haven’t tried downloading 2 hours of video at once, so maybe that is the difference. With log and transfer I’ve basically labeled each shot and then transposed to ProRes.
Larry replies: Thanks, Peter, for this update.
One Response to A Morality Tale
I just went to the FCP camera compatible website listed above, and it only lists Sony’s pro-/con-sumer cameras. The FS100 and 700 are not there. Very insufficient!